Most sinks, showers, bath tubs and the like are provided with a soap dish, for receiving and holding a bar of soap when it is not actually being used by a person during washing. An important function of such soap dishes is to receive a wet bar of soap and to hold it while it dries. Such soap dishes may be built in or integral with the sink or bath tub fixture or adjacent counters or walls. Alternatively, the soap dishes may be separate units located conveniently nearby.
Generally, most such soap dishes define a depression in which the bar of soap rests. If a wet bar of soap is returned to the dish, water will flow or drip off the bar into the dish, resulting in a pool of water in the dish in which the soap will rest.
The presence of the water in the dish keeps the bottom of the bar of soap wet and soft and the water may dissolve some of the soap. Also, more soap may be wasted when, at next use, much of the soft soap may be quickly and ineffectively washed away. This loss of soap from the bar results in a significantly reduced useful life for the bar of soap. As a result, there may be an overall increase in use of soap, with consequent increased cost to the consumer.
When a wet bar of soap is used again the soft soap on the bottom of the bar may feel uncomfortable to the touch and appear unsightly. Furthermore, if a wet bar of soap is allowed to dry in a conventional soap dish, the drying of its once water-logged bottom may result in cracks and fissures, giving it an unattractive appearance. Furthermore, as the water in the dish dries, the soap dissolved in the water may be deposited onto the bottom and walls of the soap dish, further adding to the overall unattractive appearance of the soap dish.
Attempts have been made to ameliorate or avoid the above problems by providing drains or a drain channel in the soap dish. However, in many instances, such drains are ineffective in draining the excess water rapidly enough. In addition, they are generally ineffective in drying the film of water which lies between the bar of soap and the bottom of the soap dish.
In a further attempt to solve the above problems, formations have been added to the bottom of the soap dish in an attempt to support the bar of soap off the bottom of the soap dish. However, in many instances, such formations are ineffective because the wet bar of soap may simply sink onto the formations. After the soap has dried, the bar of soap may become stuck to the formations. In addition, when the bar of soap is used another time, the formations may leave unattractive imprints in the bar of soap. In fact, as the bar of soap sinks over the formations, it may contact the bottom of the soap dish, thus resulting in the same problems discussed above. Furthermore, even in such instances where the formations are successful in keeping the bar of soap away from the bottom of the soap dish, water may still drip off the bar into the dish. The water will evaporate leaving an unsightly residue of soap and dirt in the soap dish. If the soap dish is raised off of a counter (say, by being attached to an adjacent wall, for instance) and provided with drains, the dripping water may fall onto the counter and will eventually leave more unattractive residue.
In yet further attempts to overcome the above problems, special soap dishes have been proposed. For instance, an open mesh bag was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,457,918 to allow free circulation of air of soap for improved drying. However, the disclosed soap container is ineffective in avoiding the problem of water dripping through the openings in the mesh and falling onto a surface below. In addition, the device such as that disclosed may become unsightly and the open mesh bag must be handled (i.e. turned inside out in order to eject the soap therefrom), which may be distasteful to some persons.
U.S. Pat. No. 846,936 and design patents no. D32,385, no. Des.197,503 and no. Des.149,066 also disclose open mesh dishes, which fail to solve the dripping water problem. Design patent no. Des.197,503 attempts to solve this problem by incorporating a separate drip catching plate. However, in use, the catch plate would soon become as unsightly with dried residue as other conventional soap dishes. U.S. Pat. No. 846,936, U.S. design Pat. No. Des.149,066 and United Kingdom Pat. No. 5695 to Boult attempt to solve the drip problem by closing in the bottom portion of the soap dish to hide the unattractive area. However, such structures drastically reduce the ability of air to circulate freely around the bar of soap for effective drying action. Thus, in such soap dishes the bar of soap would stay wetter for a longer period of time, thereby promoting degeneration of the bar of soap.